Fitting a Piezo Pickup

A Piezo pickup works by responding to vibration. The positioning of the piezo will influence the amplified sound you get from your cigar box guitar.

If you mount the piezo on the “soundboard” (cigar box lid), the pickup will amplify any taps on the box, and also pick up the vibration created when you slide a finger along a string. This can lead to excessive string squeal on high amplification. On the positive side, the sound has lots of treble.

Mounting the piezo under the neck reduces the sensitivity of the piezo and reduces the string squeal. The guitar sounds more bassy.